Have you or a patron ever accidentally printed something by mistake? Maybe 20 pages of a long document or web page, when all you needed was the first page?

Good news -- the next time this happens to you or one of your patrons, there's a way to cancel a print job, even if it's already started printing.  Here's how:

1. In the Windows Notification Area, a printer shortcut will appear while there are print jobs in the print queue.
   
   Note: The Windows Notification Area is the area on the Windows XP taskbar to the right of the taskbar buttons.  It displays the time, and can also contain shortcuts that provide quick access to programs, such as Volume Control and Power Options. Other shortcuts can appear temporarily, providing information about the status of activities. For example, the printer shortcut icon appears after a document has been sent to the printer and disappears when printing is complete.

2. Right-click the Printer Icon to open the print queue, and click Open All Active Printers and Faxes:
   

3. When the Printer Queue opens, right-click on the document waiting to be printed, click Cancel, and then click Yes to confirm.
   
   and
   

When you want to start printing the document again, this time remember to choose just the page or page range you need. 

For more info and videos demo-ing the process, read View, pause, or cancel printing.

Photo credit: Todd Stadler via Flickr